5 Steps to a Branded Instagram

Are you on Instagram? Of course, you are! With approximately 800 million users, over the past few years, Instagram has grown to be the app of choice for many. Which means you have 800 million chances to make a one of a kind first impression. With all the features such as insights, promoted ads, & shoppable feeds, & their new Instagram TV; Instagram has gained a lot of business accounts! Today, we will go over 5 steps to brand your Instagram in order to help your brand stand out!

Step One

Optimize Your Profile

Before you start, make sure your account is a business account! With an Instagram business account, you gain access to many perks such as; analytics, insights, the option to promote & more.

Here is a checklist to a well-optimized Instagram bio:

Use your logo or a well-lit headshot. Although, you don't necessarily have to have a professional headshot. We suggest that you do not use a selfie as profiles with a professional looking headshots perform much better!

Make sure your bio is well written. Your bio is a great place to showcase a glimpse of your personality or the personality of your business. You can also now use hashtags in your bio to get more engagement.

Include a link to your website, make sure you have attached your email (perk of a business account, and your address and or phone. Depending on how much of your info you would like to put out there!

SOCIAL FLAIR TIP: If you want to include multiple links in your profile LinkTree is a great tool!

Step Two

Optimize Your Brand Colors

One of the most overlooked aspects of branding is the branding of your social media profiles. We tend to think of our business profiles as our personal profiles rather than remembering to translate our business branding to our social media platforms. Using the colors and branding you have established for your website, logo, and branded collateral material. This will help you reinforce that you have a well thought out cohesive branding.

SOCIAL FLAIR TIP: If you use a filter for your photos, pick one and stay with that filter! This will keep everything consistent and help you build an organized feed! 

Step Three

Plan your Content In Advance

The secret to a well branded and cohesive feed is to plan your content ahead. If you know what you are going to post, sourcing images, creating graphics, and writing captions will be way easier. You can use a calendar or Planoly to keep on a posting schedule. If you write down your ideas as they come to you this will help you brainstorm ideas for the next round of content. Here at Auden & Company, we use a mix of Planoly and Google Suites to keep our content organized! We also check every Sunday to make sure our content is still relevant for that week and if not we make small tweaks!

SOCIAL FLAIR TIP: Set an alarm to go off every day you need to post. Make sure it aligns with your Instagram analytics. If you plan on using Planoly then they will remind you when your post is scheduled for.

Step Four

Using Your Brand Voice

Yes, Instagram is a picture sharing app but you should never overlook your captions! Here's why the goal of a good caption is to create a consistent brand voice and messaging style. A great caption is honestly the icing on this cake! You want followers to feel like they are one of your friends! Once you establish consistent messaging you will give the customers a clearer sense of your brand as a whole. The best way to think of messaging is that you are creating a narrative that your audience will see through your lens! Right!? On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy do you want your voice to sound, how transparent do you want to be, and so on!

Step Five

Stay On Brand

Say it loud & say it proud! DON'T GO OFF TOPIC! Every post that goes on your feed should be relevant to your brand. The reason your followers are engaging with you is so they can be in the know about all that you do. When you stay on brand in terms of content for your social media, you are helping establish and reinforce an authentic connection between your brand and your brand's audience. If you feel like you need to share personal snaps of your life, using instastory is the perfect tool to show your audience behind the scenes aspects of your brand.

social flair tip: if you want to post a personal snap of your life, use Instagram’s swipe feature. Make sure you use a cover photo for the carousel that matches the overall look of your feed. 